A few notes on tonight’s Cirque Du Soleil Boycott, and why I — a person who deeply respects and appreciate culture — am boycotting.

– Boycott is a strategy (a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim), not a principle (a fundamental truth that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning).

– It’s okay to disagree, that’s what civil society is about.

– Cultural, academic and economic boycotts or sanctions have been part of our human rights history for the longest time. They are effective tools for exerting pressure to bring about change.

– Culture does not operate in some special, apolitical space – just like academic institutions in Israel are also not removed from complicity in systematic human rights abuses.

– The Israeli government and advocacy groups are deliberately seeking to use culture as a means of ‘rebranding’. In 2008, Israel’s Foreign Ministry hired a British firm to “craft” a “new image” for the country based on “Israel’s scientific and cultural achievements”. After the Gaza massacre in 2009, Israel announced more money for ‘cultural diplomacy’, with an official declaring a plan to “send well-known novelists and writers overseas, theater companies, exhibits” to “show Israel’s prettier face”.

– The cultural boycott of Israel is “troubling” senior Israeli politicians: a law passed by the Knesset last year means that people who call for a boycott could be sued in court. The Israeli government has also set up a committee to look at how to compensate Israeli promoters in the cases of “politically motivated cancellations”.

– Calls for a boycott are supported by hundreds of artists around the world, from the film director Ken Loach to former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters and the author Alice Walker. Artists such as Carlos Santana and Elvis Costello have cancelled shows after pressure from campaigners in recent years; Coldplay, U2 and Bruce Springsteen have declined invitations to play in Israel without supporting the boycott publicly.

I’ve become boring. I basically frequent only four places in Amman, over and over and over again. So when I took a look at BeAmman’s archives for “What’s new in Amman“, the first thought that crossed my mind was “Shit, I haven’t heard of 99% of these places.”

But that’s awesome, because with a mass of sudden discoveries, my brain automatically goes into patterns mode.

The trends of 2012 in Amman:

Burger Places 3a Gafa Meen IsheelSo, you know how there was a cupcake trend in the world a few years back? Well, a similar thing is happening in Amman, except with burgers. Honestly, I’m having a hard time comprehending this trend. First of all, West Amman is like what, 500,000 people or something? Why do you need a million burger places? Secondly, most of these burger places opening up are SO. DAMN. EXPENSIVE. I don’t get it.

But I guess business is doing well. So far. I’m betting that most of them won’t still be open in a few years’ time, especially the ones in Abdoun. Stay away from opening burger restaurants though. Maybe a taco place? Turkish pastries?

This is after all, Amman, and you know how our city rapes everything that is cool. It’s cyclical. There’s a “spark” somewhere. The artists, rebels, rich kids, or merchants turn this spark into something cool. Then mass culture rapes it, and it becomes REALLY uncool. The Rainbow is at its peak, and thus is on the brink of death. Hear my words.

If you want a kick ass business for the next few years, Rainbow is good, but it won’t last for long. You can see the impending death of Rainbow in how it loses the soul that made it cool in the first place: super-massive restaurants and cafes that are no different from one another. Rainbow, I will miss you.

This is one of my favorite trends. You can see it in everything in Amman: in the art, the music, the restaurants, the conversations. Post-colonization is ending. Being Arab is cool again. In restaurants, this is reflecting on cutesy names like “Sliceh” and Arabic-food-serving eateries.

I’ve already said this a year ago, and my forecast is coming to life: l’Weibdeh is set. There’s so much soul, spirit, change and life in l’Weibdeh these days. It’s awesome. If you have a very cool idea, don’t waste it on Jabal Amman. Weibdeh is where people will be flocking during the next ten years.

I first realized that I have a serious issue with faces was when I watched “The Departed” a few years ago. I was so confused throughout the entire movie, completely unable to grasp the plot line: how is the good guy the bad guy the good guy the bad guy?

It was only after the movie was over that my brothers told me that Roba, you idiot, that’s two characters acted out by two actors.

Oops. I spent the entire 151 minutes completely unaware of the fact that DiCaprio and Damon are two different people, two different characters, and two different actors. In my mind, they were the same person.

It was a little later that I realized I have the same issue with people not on my TV screen as well. It just never occurred to me before.

I once was at the same getaway wedding as an acquaintance. It was years later, when I ran into him at a restaurant, that I said, “Hey, I haven’t seen you since that wedding!” He looked me and said, “What wedding?” Oops. I spent three days with him in the Dead Sea thinking that he is someone else.

Today, I realized that this one girl I constantly run into is actually two different girls. It was a shocking discovery, because I’ve known them “both” for years, see them “both” around a lot, and they’re “both” Facebook friends of mine. Yet, I somehow had absolutely NO IDEA that they were two different people until an hour ago.